Teleporting long distances was a risk. It took a lot of magical power, and if anything was in the way at the destination, the caster would be bounced back to their starting point minus the power they used. Fortunately, Twilight knew of one place in the Crystal Kingdom that wasn't going to have anything in the way, and with a fizzling sound, she, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer appeared right next to the crystal heart.
The last of the three was dangling in the air thanks to Twilight's telekinetic hold. Along her horn was a series of small, violet crystals, glowing brightly as they absorbed her magic. Purposefully, the alicorn began to walk, pulling the unicorn behind her past the guards who simply saluted after they'd gotten over their surprise.
Starlight's expression was subdued, her muzzle turned towards the ground, avoiding the gaze of both the dragon and the princess, wincing on occasion as her horn sparked in defiance of the crystals. “I...don't suppose you could remove this?” asked Starlight weakly. “I promised you I wouldn't run.”
“And I believe you,” said Twilight. “But the pony who taught me that spell didn't teach me the counterspell.”
Another spark jumped from her horn, the unicorn briefly biting her lip to stop a cry of pain. “I really didn't know just how important your friendship was to Equestria.”
Twilight held her tongue, silencing the sharp retort that immediately came to mind. If Starlight had just done half as much research on them as she'd done on Starswirl's idiotic spells...
“All friendships are important, Starlight,” she said instead. “I just wish you hadn't given up on yours so easily.”
“What? But I-”
“Did you ever try to write?” interrupted Twilight before the unicorn could finish. “Visit? Connect with him again? Look him up once you were older and had your own income?”
“But...but he-”
“-Obviously didn't realize how much his friendship meant to you,” finished Twilight for her. “He's not blameless, but you put yourself into this spiral of depression just as much as he did.”
Starlight let out a miserable sigh as she floated along behind the princess, trying to work some feeling back into her numb legs. “So...are we heading to the library?”
“No, we're going to see a specialist,” said Twilight cryptically.
---
Sunburst groaned, rolling over on his bed and knocking the book he'd been reading to the floor. It was early. Too early. Several choice words entered his mind in the time it took for him to make his way from the second floor of his house down to the front door, but every single one of those words died on his tongue when he saw who was on the doorstep.
“P-princess Twilight! Sir Spike! And...Starlight...Glimmer?”
The other unicorn looked almost as surprised as him, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open. In a panic, she looked towards the princess, but Twilight ignored her. “Greetings. You have my apology for waking you at such an early hour, but I can't afford to wait any longer than I have.”
Sunburst blinked and turned his focus back to the princess. “It's no worry at all, Princess! I'd be happy to lend you my assistance, but I'm not sure-”
“Excellent,” interrupted the alicorn, stepping inside and pulling Starlight along behind her, bringing her upwards into the air and displacing several books from the couch before setting the unicorn on the cushions. “I'm sure you've noticed the crystals around her horn, yes?”
Sunburst adjusted his glasses, squinting slightly at the violet crystals that were affixed to her magical focus. “Yes, I see...that is some rather nasty dark magic. I'm not sure if I have the power to-”
“I don't expect you to break it,” said Twilight with a wave of her wing. “But from what I understand, you have extensive knowledge of the Crystal Library, so if anypony knew where to look for information on how to dispel such magics, it would be you. I'll be back in a couple hours to provide the power for your counterspell. Any questions?”
“N-no, none at all! I'll get right on it!”
“Good.” The princess turned and walked towards the door, the baby dragon giving the two of them a sheepish wave before it shut behind them.
As one, the two unicorns let out a breath, the tension in the room departing along with the young princess.
“Sorry for dropping in unannounced,” said Starlight meekly, shifting slightly on the couch.
Sunburst hesitated, searching around for something to say. Finally he settled on courtesy. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Only if you're willing to levitate it for me,” grumbled Starlight, gesturing to her horn with a hoof.
Sunburst brought a hoof to his mouth and coughed. “Right...sorry. So, um...why did Princess Twilight hit you with such a nasty spell?”
Starlight looked surprised. “You can tell?”
“Of course,” said the unicorn confidently. “There's clearly quite a bit of power behind the spell, far more than that of a normal unicorn, or even a powerful one for that matter. And the color of the crystals matches the glow of the princess' magic she was using to um...carry you.”
Starlight chuckled weakly. “You always were good at analyzing magic like that. And, well...I may have screwed up. A lot.”
The researcher’s inquisitive look told Starlight that her answer clearly wasn't satisfying enough. Groaning, the unicorn took a breath and let it all out at once. “I stole her cutie mark, broke into the Starswirl the Bearded wing of the Royal Canterlot library, stole a forbidden time spell, briefly fractured the timeline via a butterfly effect, and nearly doomed all of Equestria.”
Sunburst gaped. It was tempting to ask if she was pulling one over on him, but a memory from his foal-hood reminded him that Starlight was terrible at making jokes. “And...you're not in prison?”
“Probation,” murmured Starlight. “Although after what I did...” She trailed off, avoiding his gaze and looking around the cramped but cozy house. “You seem like you've done well for yourself.”
“Ah, well...not really,” he confessed. “I'm mostly just a researcher, helping to catalog and organize the texts in the crystal library. I...never really had your talent for magic.”
“At least you put your magic to good use,” countered Starlight. “All I did was make everypony around me miserable and turn Equestria into a wasteland.” The crystals on her horn suddenly began to glow, a few sparks leaving her horn and a yelp of pain escaping her mouth.
Sunburst was by her side in an instant. “You can tell me about it later,” he said hurriedly, his horn glowing softly as he began to analyze the magic afflicting her. “I have a couple of spells that might ease the pain at least.”
Starlight nodded her thanks, letting out a sigh of relief as her old friend's magic began to take the edge off the pain.
---
“Do you really not have a counterspell for that crystal magic?” asked Spike, the skepticism clear in his voice.
Twilight smiled, her eyes opening as she let the eavesdropping spell fade. “Of course I have a counterspell, Spike. I would never have used it otherwise. I just figured this would be a good opportunity for Starlight to connect with her old friend.”
“So what are we going to do in the meantime?” asked Spike, as Twilight began to leisurely walk towards the crystal palace.
“Oh, I've got a checklist,” said Twilight with a smile. “Borrow some books from the crystal library to help Sombra, convince Cadance to start negotiations with Chrysalis, and make sure Starswirl didn’t leave any more world-altering spells lying around.”
Spike took a glance around him, as if checking to see if anypony was trying to listen in on their conversation. Leaning towards Twilight's ear, the dragon whispered, “So are you ever going to let Starlight know that the mess she caused might actually be beneficial in the end?”
“Not a chance in Tartarus, and if you so much as hint that to her, I'm cutting off your ice cream supply for a year.”
“Okay, okay...yeesh.”
“Which reminds me. Spike, take a letter to Celestia. I'm bumping up 'sealing Starswirl's archive' to number two on the list.”
Reaching into her Rarity-brand saddlebag, Spike instinctively withdrew the supplies he needed and began to write, easily managing the dexterous feat of riding and scribbling simultaneously. “So what's the first thing on your list?” he asked curiously.
“Spending some quality time with my brother,” said Twilight firmly. “Starswirl isn't that important.”